


5 Times Oliver Took Care of Barry, and 1 Time He Couldn't

by himynameisv



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crisis destroyed me, Epic Bromance, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Barry Allen, I miss these two, Protective Oliver, Soft Oliver Queen, i can't think of any more tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27010543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/himynameisv/pseuds/himynameisv
Summary: Basically what the title says. Honestly just an excuse for Olivarry bromance.Originally posted on fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Oliver Queen, Barry Allen & Team Flash, Barry Allen/Iris West, Kamilla Hwang/Cisco Ramon, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Team Arrow (Arrow TV 2012) & Team Flash (The Flash TV 2014)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. To Be a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! I'm literally just transferring this over from fanfiction.net. I've been transferring a lot of things over from fanfiction.net today. I don't know what half of these functions are, but I'm gonna figure it out.
> 
> Welp. Guess I had to succumb to the 5+1 format sometime. This fic's been brewing in my head for a while, but then AP exams happened (RIP AP Physics) and CollegeBoard may be a bit of a scam, but that doesn't mean I don't want to potentially save money on college courses.
> 
> Disclaimer: No. I don't own these shows or characters. If I did, I wouldn't need to take ridiculous 45 minute exams to save money.
> 
> Beware, I've only actually watched the most recent seasons of Flash and Arrow (AKA the last season) because I only found out they existed last summer. I've watched quite a few clips of other seasons on Youtube, though. But if I get some things wrong, please don't kill me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna say this one takes place right after the season 2 premiere? After all that singularity stuff, but also after Team Flash is somewhat reunited.

Before, Oliver thought he would win first place for self-deprecation.

Barry's giving him a run for his money.

Seriously, the kid is _exhausted_. Oliver can see the dark bags under his eyes that aren't quite as bright. He can see a heavy fatigue there that doesn't fit with the image he had of Barry: always rambling and smiling and too energetic for his own good (his speed certainly didn't help). He also sees Caitlin and Cisco and Joe eyeing the young man carefully, almost like they're prepared to catch him if he falls (as if he's already fallen once).

Oliver's prepared to do that too.

'Cause he's heard about what happened in Central City, how there was a big worm hole that sucked away a good portion of the place and damaged a multitude of buildings. He's heard about lost friends and lost family. He's also heard about houses seemingly rebuilding themselves overnight. About a person and a streak of lightning working in the dead of night. All night. Every night.

Frankly, he's worried. Actually, no, he can't put it that way. Felicity's worried, sure. But not Oliver. He's just...mildly concerned. Yeah, that's it.

When they finally track down the elusive meta that Team Flash hasn't been able to catch (making inanimate objects very much alive is apparently a very useful power), Barry superspeeds the two of them to the place.

They split up, creeping around the warehouse in question (Why is it always a warehouse?) until Barry announces through the comms, "I got eyes on him."

"Stay there. Watch him. I'm coming your way."

Normally, Oliver would go right in. But it's Barry here. He's new, compared to Oliver, with this hero stuff; and considering the multiple times he's failed with this particular meta (Cisco's calling him 'Mickey Mouse'), Oliver would say that rushing in probably isn't the best idea.

There's also a small part of him that remembers what Barry looks like, the state he's in. Oliver is nowhere near Barry's side of the building, and he doesn't want Barry to fight off the meta alone. He doesn't want Felicity or Team Flash to kill him (he doesn't doubt their ability to do so) if Barry dies on his watch. He's simply looking out for his own well being, that's all; Barry will probably be fine.

Probably.

But, of course, Barry, being the most stubborn guy in the world (he'd probably win first place for that too), says, "No. I'm going in. We need to catch him _now_."

"Barry, don't-" A whoosh can be heard as Barry speeds to apprehend the guy. Oliver quickens his pace at the sound of fighting.

He finally reaches a vantage point in the warehouse where he can watch without being seen. And the sight he finds is Barry being attacked by the meta and a bunch of boxes with eyes and sharp teeth that are probably cardboard piranhas or something like that. Oliver's fairly certain this meta shouldn't be associated with Disney.

He's utterly surrounded and breathing heavily. Oliver doesn't like his chances, so he shoots at the meta, only skimming his arm as he senses Oliver's presence. He shoots an arrow to the opposite wall and swings down to the ground, engaging in hand-to-hand combat as Barry attempts to take down the boxes.

And no, cardboard teeth are much more painful that they look. Oliver wonders if the meta's powers enhance the material or something like that, because the ease with which one bites into Barry's arm makes the cardboard seem like metal.

The meta gets distracted, glancing at Barry and flashing a triumphant smile until Oliver gets the upper hand and knocks him out, cuffing him with the huge bulky meta cuffs Team Flash uses.

He looks back at Barry with concern as all the piranhas drop lifelessly to the ground.

"You good?" he asks.

"Yeah." And he has the audacity to _grin_. "All in a day's work, I guess."

Oliver stares at him. "You're bleeding."

Barry looks down, as if surprised by that fact. He groans. "Cisco's gonna kill me for ruining his suit."

"Let's get back to STAR Labs," Oliver grounds out. Caitlin would kill _him_ if he didn't get her one and only patient back as soon as possible. Oliver has a reasonable amount of patience for an archer clad in dark green who was stuck on an island in the South China Sea for years. He's definitely got a decent amount.

Lectures could wait. Even if they were for a reckless red-clad superhero who was struck by lightning and thinks he's invincible because of his superpowers even though Oliver had to save his ass and he was called to Central City for a reason they were supposed to have worked together not go in while the other's still 70 feet away!

He takes a deep breath and sighs.

* * *

So after Barry's patched up and 100% healed because, look at that, speedsters heal fast but that doesn't mean you can just go in without backup and act like nobody can hurt you and STOP BEING SO RECKLESS I thought we talked about this, Oliver pulls Barry aside.

"What the hell was that?"

Barry looks at him as if _he's_ the one being unreasonable. "It was me, catching a meta."

" _No_ , it was you, going in without thinking about a plan or waiting for me to get there. It was _you_ , being reckless."

Barry scowls. " _I_ was taking an opportunity I saw. You would've done the same." _Oh, damn you, Barry Allen._

"The way to defeat this meta without an accident," he gestures to Barry's arm, "is with the element of surprise."

"Better me than you," Barry mutters. And _there's_ the root of the problem.

Oliver takes a moment to think. "Barry...I've been hurt before. You should know; you were there one of those times. It's fine."

Barry leans his head back against the wall. "I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me." The 'again' is unsaid.

"Look. Not everything in the world is your fault. Sure, half of Central City was probably destroyed in that worm hole-"

"Singularity."

"-singularity, but I'm sure you didn't intend for that to happen."

Barry laughs humorlessly. "But it _did_. Ronnie," he cuts himself off and swallows, "Ronnie could've been alive right now. He and Caitlin would've been _happy_. And now Caitlin's had to lose him all over again."

"She doesn't blame you. Nobody blames you. We're all here to support you." Barry looks at him skeptically. "I came here for a reason, and that was to help you. Joe and Cisco and Caitlin are still here, supporting you behind the comms and patching you up and having your back. Whenever we get the chance, Felicity is so excited to see you. You're not alone, Barry."

"Everyone around me gets hurt," he says in a small voice.

Oliver rolls his eyes. "Don't be dramatic. We're all still here. Alive. In STAR Labs."

"More people would be here if it wasn't for me."

"You can't change what happened. Just know that none of us blame you. Heck, I don't even think the public blames you."

"The public doesn't know enough to blame me."

"The public knows that you're their hero, and that's enough."

Barry smiles. Just a little crinkle in his eyes and a little upturn of his lips. But it's a smile.

Oliver smirks. "The city needs a hero that's actually alive, though. Less recklessness and self-sacrificing would be greatly appreciated."

"You know Joe already told me this?"

"It's not my fault you needed to hear this twice to get it through your thick head." He knocks his knuckles against Barry's head to prove his point.

"Hey!" He escapes Oliver and runs down the hall (at normal speed) towards the others. He turns around halfway through. "Nice pep talk!"

Oliver's going to deny that. "Nope. It wasn't a pep talk! It was just some much needed advice from a much more experienced vigilante."

"Sure, Oliver, sure."

Oliver sighs, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He's become soft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I'm not that great at coming up with original metas, as evidenced by Mickey Mouse here.
> 
> But pleeeeease R&R!


	2. Someday

Oliver finds him a few days after the funeral, staring at the dirt above where his father lay.

"Hey," he says, approaching from Barry's right. Barry looks up and smiles, though it passes off as more of a grimace. "Sorry I wasn't there for the funeral."

"It's fine," Barry says, not unkindly. "You were saving your city." The silence swells up again as he stares down at the dirt and Oliver scrutinizes him.

"Barry, I'm so sorry about your dad. From what I heard, he was a good man."

"The best," he whispers, still looking downcast.

"He loved you, so very much."

Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say, 'cause Barry just sobs and lets the tears fall from his eyes. "Yeah, I know. He," a sniff, "he said that right before Zoom-" Oliver crushes him in a hug before he can finish the sentence. He feels Barry's arms tighten around his back as he tries to get his crying under control. It's probably a minute later when they finally pull away.

"It's just not fair," Barry says, rubbing his eyes. "He just got out of prison. He was going to start his life again!"

"I know," Oliver responds, not exactly sure what to say to that, to all the bad and terrible things that seemed to happen to Barry, not sure how to help him because Oliver's rarely good at this stuff, at making people feel better since he usually pushes people away, but he wants to help Barry, wants to _so bad_. Sometimes, he wants to shield him from this world so he would never feel hurt again, be ridiculous and wrap him up in bubble wrap or something like that (Felicity would figure something out). But obviously, that's not going to happen, so he's stuck at words that may or may not make a difference.

"He wouldn't want you to be sad, though."

Barry laughs bitterly. He asks, "How can I _not_ be?" And that's the million dollar question, isn't it?

"I'm not saying you _can't_ be sad. You _can_. You can mourn, you can grieve, you can do all of that because this emptiness in your heart," he pokes at Barry's chest, causing the younger man to pout and shove his hand away, "that's the cost of love."

He lets that sink in for a few moments. "And you have a lot of that. It's why you became a hero."

Barry looks at him. "You're a hero, too."

Oliver grimaces. "I became one to set things right in Star City, 'cause it was a mess. I methodically went after the corrupt people on a list. None of that was about love."

"And now?" Barry raises his eyebrows.

Oliver doesn't say anything, not knowing the answer himself. Silence permeates from the two before Oliver interrupts it again. "You can be sad, Barry. But not forever." _Probably should've gotten to that point sooner instead of letting the conversation drift off to me. Great job, Queen._

He sees the tears gather up in Barry's eyes again, his chin quivering as he tries not to break down. "It feels like it's gonna hurt forever," he says, voice cracking.

Oliver sighs. He knows only a fraction of the feeling, from when both his parents died; but he didn't have the best relationship with them. He can't accurately imagine what Barry's going through right now.

But he takes from what he does know. What he did go through, in hopes of making Barry feel at least a fraction better. "It hurts now. But someday, it won't. Someday, the pain will fade away until you can't...you can't feel it anymore in your happiest times. And maybe in your most miserable times, you'll feel it, but it'll be a fraction of what it is now. You'll be able to forget about it enough so it's not a constant in your life."

"That feels...wrong. Like I'm not respecting his memory."

Oliver simply smiles at that. "Forgetting doesn't mean you're heartless. It just means moving on and letting go. That's not a bad thing, it's just...accepting that some things can't change." (He'd be proven wrong after that with Flashpoint and time travel, but he was pretty sure the concept had been received.)

He puts an arm around Barry. "He'd want you to move on. He'd want you to, someday, be happy again. He'd want you to eventually stop replaying all the sad moments in your head and...remember the happy ones." And that was the only beauty in death, especially for one taken a bit too soon.

"You ready to go now?" Oliver asks quietly, afraid to disturb the apparent sacredness of the cemetery around them. "Felicity's waiting for you back at your house." Barry nods, swallowing and wiping the tears from his face.

Then they walk out of a place that embodies grief to a place that embodies love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by two sayings. "Grief is the price for love," which originally came from Dr. Colin Murray Parkes, but is usually attributed with Queen Elizabeth II, and, "Letting go doesn't mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be." I have no idea where the second one is from.
> 
> For anyone going through a hard time right now. Either with the death of a family member or something else. Remember those quotes, and remember that you're always loved, and that there are people there for you, even people whom you may not have appreciated before.
> 
> Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and follows. It really means a lot and motivates me to keep writing.
> 
> Hope all you beautiful people have a wonderful day!


	3. You're Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. To address everything that's been going on. Yes, black lives matter. Yes, George Floyd's death wasn't at all fair or justified and the arresting officer deserves a murder charge (because that's what it was). Yes, racism and racial profiling have been going on for too long and need to be stopped.
> 
> But that doesn't give you the right to loot and riot stores or burn down buildings and the likes.
> 
> To all of you peaceful protesters, keep going. Don't let anyone discourage you from your freedom of speech. Fight for change. Speak out against all the injustices of this world.
> 
> To all of the other people taking advantage of the situation and rioting, please don't. I might be this random stranger on the internet, and you don't have to listen to me, but think about this. All the violence detracts from the peaceful protests that have been happening. (It doesn't help that that's all the news focuses on.) The violence gives people a bad view of the movement. Personally, I don't see any reasoning behind destroying stores. Many small businesses may get shut down because of this and may never rebuild again, especially after the pandemic. And really, what's the logic behind that? Like, hey! I stole a TV from Macy's! This is totally going to help us end racial injustice!
> 
> Um, no. I don't think that's how it works. Just because this whole thing started with violence doesn't mean it has to end with it. My opinion is that peaceful protests are the way to go.
> 
> Sorry if you didn't really want to read all that. I just had to get it out. If you don't agree with my views, please...respectfully...attack me. End rant.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Flash or Arrow or any of their characters. This chapter is set soon soon after the Dominator invasion.

Whenever someone, _anyone_ , gets hurt on their shared missions, that person is always, without fail, Barry. Oliver sighs.

He can hear Team Arrow in the Cortex: Felicity's ramblings and the clacks of a keyboard, Thea's light but insistent voice, Digg's interjections and grumbled remarks about this whole mess. (The Recruits have been left to their own devices back at Star City. Oliver hopes the Arrow Cave is still intact when they get back.) Team Flash is in some other room of STAR Labs. Far enough away to resemble some sort of privacy, but close enough so that Oliver can hear them (and so they can quickly run in if something happens). Caitlin with her medical jargon, masking her worry; Cisco telling her to slow down and speak English and attempting to make jokes to lighten the mood while also tinkering on some tech that explodes or fritzes every few minutes; some version of Harrison Wells making fun of him and researching at the same time; Iris helping wherever she can without fail.

So while Team Arrow tries to find and apprehend the meta and Team Flash tries to find a way to negate the meta's powers, Oliver's sitting in a lonely corner of the makeshift medbay with Barry in his arms. He's on Oliver's lap, right side against his chest and forehead resting on his shoulder as Oliver tries not to join Barry in his crying.

Things had been going just fine until Barry was whammied by the meta, her eyes glowing purple as she did... _something_...to him. Barry had dropped like a stone, and _no_ , Oliver hadn't panicked.

Oh, what was he kidding, he _had_.

Barry had been immediately brought back to STAR Labs, but after close examination courtesy of Dr. Snow, they concluded that nothing was physically wrong with him. They theorized that the meta's powers just extended to unconsciousness...until Barry woke up a few hours later, and everything went to hell.

Barry stiffens. "Ollie. Ollie! Zoom and - and Thawne are here. They're gonna-"

"Shh...it's okay. It's okay. You're okay." Oliver rocks them both side to side, repeating the meaningless mantra over and over again while Barry sniffles like a little kid. The situation would normally be humiliating for both of them, but these were not normal circumstances.

"They won't go away," he whispers, and it just about breaks Oliver's heart. Which is a problem. He's supposed to be this dark vigilante, but bring one vulnerable Barry Allen into the equation and all his walls come falling down. _When had that happened?_

"Won't let 'em hurt you, Barr." He leans his head so his cheek is resting on Barry's unruly brown hair.

Barry simply sobs. And Oliver's selfish. _So_ selfish. He wishes this were like Bivolo, when Barry was angry instead of hallucinating and _just plain sad_. Then maybe Oliver wouldn't have to deal with the pull in his chest as he watches Barry curl up against him. Then maybe Oliver wouldn't hurt so much.

He leans his forehead against the side of Oliver's neck, and Oliver simply lifts a hand to brush away the sweaty hair as Barry continues sobbing and muttering and screaming out and begging Oliver to do something.

He can't.

Oliver can only hold on tighter as he hopes for this to end soon.

It doesn't.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so so so sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

"Hey," Oliver says as he looks down at Barry, wiping away the tears that fall, "you have absolutely _nothing_ to be sorry for."

"No, nono. K-killed my mom." Barry's voice wobbles as he says that, and then he just buries his head into Oliver's neck again.

Oliver laughs mirthlessly. "That wasn't you, Barr. It was the Reverse Flash." He nudges the crumpled figure on his lap. "You know that."

That apparently doesn't help. "I _told_ him t-to. I don't deserve- she blames me! My fault. All my fault!" His hand goes up to grip the front of Oliver's shirt. "She's laughing," he whispers.

Oliver looks down at the hand and grabs it with his own, squeezing gently. "She's not, Barr. She wouldn't do that. Nobody blames you."

"The laughing the screams won't stop. Ollie, make them stop. Ollie please," Barry begs. Him acting so much like a kid in need of comfort from the very real monsters of the world just made it hurt even more.

"Shh...it's okay. No laughing and no screaming. Just you and me, Barr."

"But the shadows-"

"No. Nope. No shadows. No anything. Just you and me."

"Shadows and lightning come to get me. Help, Ollie?"

Oliver smiles sadly. "'Course. Always."

It's a promise that holds true.


	4. One, Two, Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Real sh*t has been going down.
> 
> I'm sure Hartley Sawyer's firing was a real shocker to everyone. And, again, I'm kinda 50-50 on the situation. Like, yeah, the tweets were...not good, to say the least. Highly inappropriate, and actions have consequences. But, maybe not a consequence as severe as being taken from the show? Downgrading him to a recurring or guest star would be fine by me. I may be biased because I was really looking forward to that Ralph-Sue storyline (Maybe they'll recast him? Idk; it seems weird.), but we have all these Flash characters with redemption arcs (Captain Cold, Frost, King Shark, Gorilla Grodd, Pied Piper, etc.). Why can't we apply that to real life? He did seem very sincere in his apology, and the incident was years ago. I have trouble correlating the him from back then to the person he is now. *shrugs* One can only hope.
> 
> This one's set during that Cicada stint of the Flash. I already finished it when I realized I forgot about Nora. So...let's just forget she exists!
> 
> It's not that I hate Nora. She was definitely annoying at times, but I mostly liked her character, just not the impact she had on the other characters. I mean, it's not her fault. It's just that Barry and Iris had been married a few months before. And then, boom! Grownup daughter comes into their lives. I felt that Nora coming from the future just made the two of them grow so quickly as a couple, as parents. Growth is definitely good, but I'd rather it not be that forced or quick.
> 
> Cicada-Grace was also a problem for me. Maybe I have something against children from the future? (Arrow did good in that aspect, actually.) I enjoyed Orlin's character arc (ahem, redemption arc that can be applied in real life). It showed how much he really cared for Grace, and just as I was beginning to feel for him, he gets killed by another Cicada from the future. I felt that the second Cicada kind of nullified his sacrifice? She made it so that his redemption arc didn't really matter, and I felt that, although she upped the stakes with her powers, she wasn't needed at all.
> 
> So, yeah. Season 5 had quite a few problems for me (and you can't forget THE SUIT).
> 
> You're probably tired of me dumping all my thoughts on you now. Let's move on to the actual story (and hope that it's longer than my impromptu essay)!

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One breath, two. One, two, three, four..._

Oliver had been called in (alone) to help Team Flash with the meta known as Cicada. 'Cause, frankly, they _suck_ without their powers. Had all his training sessions with Barry gone to waste?

He _really_ tries not to roll his eyes at their efforts (and this is only training). But yeah. They're pathetic.

And then, all too soon, the alarms blare in STAR Labs, and they all go running towards the Cortex.

"What's going on?" Barry asks.

"Cicada's at the docks!" Cisco replies, scrambling around and looking at all the monitors.

Frost interjects, "I don't pin him as the fishing or sightseeing type. What's so special about that place?"

"I don't...oh, great. Just great. Guess what? There's not one, not two, but _three_ metas there! All in the same place!"

"Just our luck," Ralph mutters.

Oliver curses under his breath. "Let's go!"

* * *

When they get there, it's utter and complete chaos. Oliver thinks that maybe people would have higher chances of surviving events like this if they didn't panic, but that's on them. Oliver also thinks, as he spots the hooded figure holding a glowing lightning-shaped dagger, that Cicada is quite hypocritical in trying to eradicate all metas since he's a meta himself. But, again, Oliver's a vigilante who fights all these powerful metas with arrows, of all things, so who is he to judge?

They split up, Barry speeding the civilians to safety, Elongated...Guy tracking down the three metas, and Frost and him going head to head with Cicada. They try to stall him enough so that everyone gets to safety.

Loathe to admit it, Oliver knows his own non-meta enhanced skills are no match for the guy.

And then the dagger suddenly pulses, and he's helpless, watching as Barry and Ralph's powers are sucked away in wisps of color. Barry stumbles to a stop and Ralph simply groans. They continue trying to get the innocent bystanders out anyways.

Oliver knows their chances of defeating Cicada would be much higher if all of them were fighting him at the same time, but he also knows that the public is more important. Defeating the bad guy isn't everything (tell that to the him from back then).

He knows all the backlash a vigilante gets, has experienced it firsthand. He wants the Flash's reputation intact, seeing as the Arrow is perceived as more...on the darker side of things. And if that means taking hits from Cicada and getting perpetually annoyed by the sound of his breathing, so be it.

Cicada throws the dagger, and Oliver's not so sure he can dodge it in time until Frost, from his right, throws an icy blast at it, sending it off course and clattering to the ground.

"Thanks," he says, distracted again as the dagger only stays still for a few seconds, Cicada summoning it back to his hand.

"Don't mention it," she says, throwing icy blast after icy blast and pushing Cicada towards the water. _Thank God for meta powers that can't be taken away by a deranged metahuman for some apparent reason_ , he thinks.

And then he goes back in, shooting arrows that the guy always manages to deflect and trying to get any hits in with his fists and feet. He doesn't think about it much, though. The fluid motions are almost like second nature to him now, and instinct and muscle memory dictate that he doesn't need to think about his next move before doing it...unless the fight's not exactly going his way.

As is the case now.

Both he and Frost manage to get knocked to the ground by a well-aimed blast of energy.

"Didn't know he could do that," she mutters, wincing as she stumbles, trying to get up.

Oliver doesn't answer, trying not to gasp as his ribs throb and cataloging how many arrows he has left and coming up with half-formed strategies to defeat this guy. He watches as Cicada sets his eyes on Barry, who's trying to usher a couple little kids out of the vicinity and nonono not Barry not-

Oliver can't do anything as Barry's blasted off his feet and - and into the water and Barry can swim. Barry can swim, right? Oliver's fairly certain he can. _But not when he's hit_ , a part of him thinks. And Oliver's naive enough not to dwell on that and - and now the kids are screaming and hurrying away, courtesy of Ralph, and Oliver's on his feet now and Frost is beside him and it's a blur, but all Oliver can remember is _this guy hurt Barry_. But then it's a few minutes or a few seconds Oliver doesn't know later and he looks back and Barry. Hasn't. Resurfaced. And then Cisco's yelling at them through the comms, something about vitals tanking and _What the hell are you guys doing?! Save him!_ and Oliver glances at Frost. Understanding passes her face as she says _Go!_ and then Ralph joins them and Oliver just - just jumps right into the water.

On any other day, it would be blessedly cool, but right now, Oliver thinks it very foreboding and ominous. He opens his eyes, squinting through the stinging and swims down and down until, there! A flash of red, and Oliver grabs onto Barry's arms and drags them up and up until they reach the surface and he gasps.

Barry doesn't.

Without the apparent weightlessness of the water, his head lolls onto Oliver's shoulder, eyes closed and Oliver panics for just a millisecond before lugging them both to land.

He takes a moment to gauge their surroundings, noticing the fight has moved away from the water. It's not going too well, but then Oliver looks at the supine figure below him and all thoughts of Cicada slip from his mind.

He checks Barry's pulse and notes how sluggish it is (ignoring the slight shake to his hand as it reaches his exposed neck). Then, he leans his head down to Barry's face, places his hand on his chest, and waits. Nothing. No puffs of air, no up and down movement, no _breathing_.

He starts CPR.

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One breath, two. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One breath, two. One..._

"Don't die on me, Barr! Don't do this!"

_Four, five..._

"Breathe, Barry, breathe! Come on, kid."

_Two..._

A gurgling sound, and then Barry's coughing out mouthfuls of water. _He's okay, he's fine._ Oliver lets out a breath and turns Barry on his side, patting the slick red material of his suit. "There you go." Barry blindly grabs on to his forearm as he continues to cough his lungs out.

Eventually, the coughing stops. "Wha...wha happened?" he asks, breathless.

" _You_ , mister, almost drowned."

Barry furrows his brows. "You're almost as bad as Felicity," he grumbles.

Oliver smiles, despite the circumstances. "Shut up."

Barry suddenly dissolves in another coughing fit and subsequently passes out, and Oliver's pretty sure Joe's going to murder him. Or Iris. Or Felicity. Or anyone on Team Flash. Or all of Central City, to be honest. Oliver's life is seriously on the line here.

He gently puts his hand on Barry's chest. Up, down. Up, down. Shaky and a bit irregular, but still there, still breathing.

And later, he'll find out that Cicada managed to escape. He'll find out that one of the metas got hurt. He'll find out that the press is having a field day with this (Iris's article about him being a softie doesn't help matters).

But for now. For now, Barry's _alive_. And that's all that matters.


	5. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU where Oliver doesn't die. *sniffs* I'm still not over it.
> 
> Also, spoilers for the second half of the Flash Season 6.

Oliver looks at the door in front of him. It'a an unassuming gray, matching the wall that it's attached to. The others are split up in various other places surrounding the facility. His spot might be the most boring, but he feels a sort of numb weariness for what he may find behind it.

"Everyone in position?" he asks through the comms. Everyone says something along the lines of 'yes'. "'Kay. Let's roll."

_Oliver's phone rings, and he groans as he rolls across the bed to grab it. He was actually trying to get an early night's rest for once. "Hey Cisco. What's up?" he asks, hopefully not sounding as annoyed as he feels._ _A flurry of words meet him from the other end and he has to sit up, rubbing his forehead with the hand not holding the phone. "Slow down, slow down. What happened?"_

_"Barry's been kidnapped."_

_Oliver swallows. "What? How?"_

_"Just...come over. Please. We need all the help we can get."_

He walks through the so-far empty hallways, footsteps quiet, but his breathing uncomfortably loud in the silence and apprehension. While normally there would be some kind of commentary or banter going back and forth between all of them, there's nothing today.

They had all split up, seeing as the facility was _huge_ and they needed to find Barry as soon as possible. Even so, Oliver slightly regrets that decision as sounds of fighting start, and he doesn't know who it is. He's about to ask when he turns a corner and runs into a pair of soldiers. Henchmen? Mirror-people? Oliver doesn't know, and he doesn't particularly care. Luckily, they aren't metas, so he takes them down easily enough and continues on.

Now that the alarm has apparently been raised, more fighting starts. He knows they're all capable fighters, but he doesn't like not being able to see what's happening. _If someone dies on this rescue mission, Barry's going to kill me._ He uses a few of his arrows, but doesn't meet much resistance in his section of the building.

"How many metas _are_ there?!" Diggle exclaims.

"Well, considering Black Hole was a meta-based organization, I'd say a lot," Laurel replies nonchalantly.

Diggle just grumbles back, "Easy for you to say."

"I don't understand," Felicity interjects from back in STAR Labs. "I thought Eva wanted to get rid of Black Hole, not use it for her own nefarious means."

"It's an enemy of my enemy situation," Nash says. "They both hated Carver, so most of the metas turned to her side."

"But Carver's dead," Oliver says, frankly really annoyed with the situation.

"Apparently, nobody cares," Cisco says. "Do any of you have eyes on Barry or Mirror Mistress yet?"

"Uh...I haven't. But I _am_ in a room full of mirrors," Ralph replies. Various screams of 'Get out of there!' come from the rest of the group. "Okay, okay." Oliver has to roll his eyes. How Team Flash always make light of a dangerous situation he will never know. He kicks open another door and abruptly stops.

"Barry."

_Oliver walks into STAR Labs with Felicity, John, and Laurel. Cisco's obvious panic through the phone had rattled Oliver somewhat, and he figured they all needed to be there. He enters the Cortex to see Cisco ushering a disheveled Iris, Kamilla (Is that her name?), and, most surprisingly, Captain Singh to rest. "Shoo! I don't wanna see you here 'til tomorrow morning."_

_"But-" Iris starts to say._

_"No buts! You're still dealing with that neural dissonance thingy. Rest! We'll call you guys if anything happens."_

_Frost is leaning against the wall, watching him with an amused look. "Acting like a mother bear is Caity's job."_

_Cisco shoots her a glare before seeing them. "Oh, thank God! Glad you guys are here."_

_"Of course," Oliver simply says. "Now, what happened?"_

_"Okay, so," Cisco pauses, as if thinking of a way to sum it all up effectively, "there's this lady. Eva McCulloch. You heard of her?"_

_"Yeah. CEO of McCulloch Technologies. Just came back from being held captive by terrorists. Her husband died saving her," Felicity says._

_"Yeah...no. That's all a lie. She's been stuck in this mirror-verse thingy for years, and then she had this idea to pull Iris, Kamilla, and Singh into there to replace them with mirror versions of themselves."_

_Oliver's having a slightly hard time keeping up. "So she's a meta?" he asks._

_"Yep. She wanted revenge on her husband for abandoning her there, and she succeeded, hence his death."_

_"So Sue Dearbon_ didn't _kill her," Felicity clarifies._

_Cisco shakes his head. "She's here somewhere with Ralph," he says, waving his hand in a vague motion. "Anyways, once we figured out we had been spending time with mirror duplicates of our friends, we did a bunch of stuff. Long story short: we found a way to get into the mirrorverse, Barry went in to get Iris and company out, but they came back without him. Mirror Mistress has him."_

_Laurel cocks her head to the side. "Mirror Mistress?"_

_"Just...it's her villain name, okay?_ _I gave it to her._ _"_

_Oliver sighs and Diggle rubs his forehead with his hand. "So...how much progress have you made finding him?" Oliver asks._

_Cisco sighs. "None."_

It took them three whole days to find Barry. And now Oliver's right beside him.

"Ollie?" a quiet but firm voice asks, and it flares with hope, and now Oliver is flaring with hope too because that voice isn't the weak and wavering one of a broken man. It is quiet, yes, but Barry seems intact. To be honest, Oliver was ready for worse.

"Yeah. Yeah, kid. Let's get you out of here, huh?" And he hurries, undoing the four straps that hold Barry hostage to the table. He swallows as he notices the broken fingers. Maybe he isn't as okay as Oliver had previously thought. Soon, the straps are undone and they must have been meta dampening because lightning flashes through Barry's eyes. The moment is short lived, though, as Oliver notices other things that, in his relief, he hadn't noticed before.

There are cuts _everywhere_ , like Barry was shoved through a mirror or two. Actually, he probably was. And then there are the longer cuts that don't look so random, that look like someone purposefully sliced through his skin with a steady hand (and he hadn't been able to do anything about it). There's a few trickles of blood down his head, and his eyes are slightly unfocused, which makes Oliver think he has a concussion. Also, nobody breathes that shallowly without broken ribs.

He pushes down his anger and presses a hand to his comms. "I've got Barry," he says, helping Barry to sit up. He groans at the dizziness the new position causes.

"Is he okay?" Iris presses.

"He's, uh-" Oliver hesitates, "he's seen better days. But nothing life threatening." Sighs of relief can be heard from everyone.

"Can you walk?" Oliver asks Barry quietly. He nods, and Oliver knows that might not be true, but Barry's stubborn. So, Oliver pulls him up to a standing position and supports him as they hobble out of that dreaded place and towards liberation.

_It pretty much all comes down to Cisco and Felicity working to find a location. The rest of them help where they can, but they're mostly lounging around or training or protecting Central City when the Flash isn't there._

_The tension and worry is evident in the air, fills the hallways and rooms that Oliver walks through._

_It's in the way Iris continuously fingers her wedding ring with a frown, eyes downcast. It's in the way Cisco frantically types, frantically tinkers, frantically pulls at his hair as the reality of becoming Team Flash's leader gets a bit too real. It's in the way Caitlin pauses at certain points in time, tilting her head and listening to a voice only she can hear. It's in the way Iris's phone rings every hour or so, a concerned Joe's voice snaking into the room as he asks for updates and wishes he could be there. It's in the way Cecile will step out of the room if there's too many people, the emotions too overwhelming and suffocating for her. It's in the way Captain Singh comes back to STAR Labs after a day and stays, despite not having spent time with his husband in a while; his devotion to the Flash, or rather, Barry Allen, is just that great. It's in the way Felicity pauses to wipe her tears more and more as the days go by. It's in the way Kamilla and him have to physically push Cisco and Felicity to bed because they won't get much done in this state._

_And, it's in the way Joe comes rushing in once they finally have news. They're all suited up, and Oliver can't quite believe that both he and Singh are doing the mission with them. They're about to leave before the now-captain stops them. He sighs, and then looks up, making eye contact with each and every one of them. "Whoever finds Barry first, don't hesitate. Get him, and get out. Don't worry about the rest of us."_

_They all nod._

Oliver and Barry manage to make it about halfway out before they meet trouble. Trouble, as in a whole hallway of enemies. Oliver stifles a groan as he releases Barry to lean against a wall, and then he starts fighting. He doesn't like this, can't do much because he can't let anyone get to Barry. Unfortunately, they exploit this, and soon, Oliver's on the ground and surrounded.

Then, a flash of lightning and everybody there crumples to the ground. Including Barry.

Oliver jumps up, running to him. He pats Barry's shoulder and his face scrunches up with pain. _Okay, dislocated shoulder then._ "Come on, kid. We gotta go." Oliver reaches out to pull him up (by the uninjured shoulder) before he hears footsteps and turns around. Apparently, Barry hadn't hit hard enough, so two of them hadn't been knocked out. Oliver can't blame him. He's weak, and those guys are freaking body builders.

He rushes to subdue them, and eventually manages to do so before Barry's cry of pain. Oliver stiffens and turns around, shooting an arrow into the chest of the person stabbing him. He runs over and pushes the guy away before kneeling at Barry's side. It's a dagger in the thigh, and it's not pretty, but Oliver thinks he'll live. "Can you walk?" he asks again. Barry shakes his head miserably. "Okay, okay. I'ma lift you up and we're getting the hell out of here, okay?" Barry's eyes widen as the information hits him, and braces for the pain the action will undoubtedly make.

Oliver scoops him up in the very dignified position of a bridal carry and simply runs, to hell with stealth. Barry grabs on to the front of his suit with his broken fingers and hides his head in Oliver's chest.

They don't meet anyone on the way out. It's probably because of something Nash told Allegra to do with her powers; Oliver's not clear on the details, and he doesn't particularly care. They eventually get to an inconspicuous STAR Labs van parked a block away from the building because extrapolators don't work anymore. If Oliver had known the inconveniences of that, he would've tried to make more than one universe. But, as it is, when one is on the brink of death and relatively new to their powers, they don't think much of what they're doing.

Oliver gets inside and sets Barry down, sighing with relief. _We made it._

"Guys? We're out," Oliver simply says. They've found Mirror Mistress and are fighting her and her closest meta goons. Minions? Mirror minions? Frost has figured out that freezing the mirrors works great for their side, and now it's just a matter of overpowering them. With this in mind, he turns off his comms. He has more pressing matters at hand.

He quickly grabs bandages to wrap around the wound and stem the flow of blood. They have a few medical supplies in the van, but most of the first aid will have to be done back at STAR Labs.

"Pull it out." Pained and cloudy eyes bore into him.

"No! You'll bleed out," Oliver protests.

Barry shakes his head. "I might heal with the dagger still in. That's worse."

Oliver doesn't want to think about what they'd do if _that_ happened, so he grabs onto the hilt with one hand, the other pushing down on Barry's leg, and says, "This is gonna hurt." He pulls. Barry screams.

He quickly wraps the wound with just enough pressure to help speed up the clotting process, but not so much that it blocks circulation. Oliver grimaces as he realizes it probably needs stitches, but right now, he can't do that. He then reaches out to set Barry's shoulder. Barry looks at him wearily, but yields to his touch. A snapping sound, and another scream resonates in the vehicle.

When Oliver's done, he looks up. Barry looks back at him. He's tired, he's hurt, but he's not broken, not empty. That's all Oliver can hope for.

He gently puts a blanket around Barry's shoulders and then moves to sit next to him, leaning against the side of the van. He turns on his comms. They're almost done; Mirror Mistress is cornered. He glances at Barry, and they breathe in the silence.

Barry leans his head onto Oliver's shoulder, closes his eyes. Oliver puts a gentle arm around him.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Oliver knows he's not sleeping. He doesn't push it, though.

Sometimes, simply being there is all you need to do.


	6. The World Continues On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE MADE IT! Last chapter, everyone!
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me through all the likes and follows. Special thanks to BusyBunny and InsomniaFlarrow (on fanfiction.net) for your reviews, bc reviews = oxygen. No, really. ;)
> 
> So, as the great author that I am, I'm going to warn you about what's to come, 'cause if you haven't figured it out yet, the only reason Oliver wouldn't be there for Barry is if he were dead. Gonna put that out there. For this final chapter, we're going to step back from the AU to a post-Crisis world without him.
> 
> Please review! It only takes a minute.
> 
> -hellomynameisv

Barry steps out onto the balcony of his and Iris's apartment, breathing in the cool air of the night. The few people still driving at this time are below, passing by quickly and quietly as they head home, wherever that may be. Although he's not that far up, the sight still seems so...distant. So peaceful. _Normal._

He's been the impossible for so long that he doesn't remember how life was before.

He sighs, going to sit down and bring his heavy head up, looking into the darkness of space, of the universe. _One_ , he thinks. _Only one._ There aren't any redos or any other Olivers and Barrys that can be found in another world. This is all that's left.

Even though he is certainly closer to the people below, the vast expanse of planets and stars and galaxies and moons seems to embrace him: this one human being, this one speck on the planet Earth who doesn't really know what to do anymore.

It's the Flash's night off, and Barry Allen is lost.

When Barry was little, he was fascinated with the stars and everything out there. All the unknowns and things to discover, the simple _vastness_ of the world that went far beyond his curiosity. He probably would've become an astronomer had it not been for the arrest of his father...the death of his mother. Being a CSI is still great, though, solving mysteries (however small they are), and simply helping the city.

The particle accelerator changed everything. And now there are so many other things beyond his work as a CSI to study and discover and find and celebrate and save. (He built a freaking AI, for one. Or, he will build. Builds? He doesn't really know.) A hero's work is amazing and he doesn't regret it. He thanks whatever being's out there (preferably not the Anti-Monitor) for this chance to make the most out of his life. For the chance to make the world a better place.

But sometimes, he can't help but wonder about the other directions his life could've gone.

He hesitantly lifts a hand out to reach for the sky. If he closes his eyes, he can just imagine Oliver beside him, talking and laughing and _living_. Maybe making fun of him, maybe looking at the stars with him, maybe putting an arm around him.

If people knew the costs of being a hero, would they even want to be one? _Yes_ , a part of him thinks. 'Cause there are good people like Oliver who wouldn't care. Barry supposes, based on that criteria, that he's a good person, too, but that doesn't stop him from _hurting_ whenever something like - like _this_ happens.

He puts his hand down, bringing a knee up and hugging it to his chest.

"Hey, Ollie. I'm not-" he laughs mirthlessly, "I'm not sure if you're somewhere out there. Up there? Listening to me. But...but if you are, I, just - I miss you, Ollie." A tear falls down his cheek, but he doesn't really care at the moment. Nobody's there to see him cry. Nobody's there to see the Flash break.

"You were my rock, you know? You were the first person I told about my powers. Well," Barry winces, "the first person by choice. And whenever I wasn't sure about anything, I'd think about you in the next city over. It was comforting, knowing you were there, knowing I could lean on you if I needed to." He sniffs, trying not to all-out sob so he could get this all out, all off his chest.

"I met your daughter. Well," Barry shrugs, "the grown-up version of her from the future. I haven't met baby Mia, not yet. Felicity's a bit overprotective, but I guess she's making up for you. Mia, she's just so much like you, Oliver!" Barry chuckles, still teary. "She's firm, blunt, a badass, a leader, and, most of all, a good person. I'm glad you got to spend time with her before - before you died."

Barry sighs, leaning his head back against the wall. "You said that Kara and I would be the best of us. I guess I'm having a bit of trouble believing that." Twin tears fall down his cheeks. "You may be the so-called brooding, darker vigilante for Star City, but you're still a hero, Ollie. You've made mistakes, but so have the rest of us. You deserved a place in this new world, too. You deserved to raise your daughter, see her grow. You deserved so much more. I don't know what you saw in me for you to give all of that up." He pauses, tracking the patterns in the sky.

"It's hard and - and I might not understand, but I'll try to live up to that. I'll be the best hero I can; inspire people, like you said I could. I'll do it for you, Ollie." He wipes his tears and stands up, reaching for the stars once more. "Thank you for being my friend."

He hears the front door open from inside. Iris walks in. "Barry? Babe, I'm home."

Barry smiles up at the sky. A warm breeze ruffles his hair and wraps around his frame. He turns around and goes back inside. "Hey, Iris."

She looks at him with her warm, knowing eyes, reaching up to wrap him in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I will be."

The planet spins and the stars twinkle on.


End file.
